Microencapsulation of feed additives with potential in livestock and poultry production: a systematic review

The expected population growth will increase global food consumption, particularly meat consumption, which is estimated to increase 14% by 2030. Hence, the efficient utilization of all the resources involved in meat production, predominantly feed additives in livestock, is important due to economic costs and the high environmental in terms of gas production and ammonia excretion. Efforts have been made to increase efficiency in livestock production and improve the absorption and utilization of nutrients. Nevertheless, advances in technology in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries have barely been used by the livestock and poultry industry. The micro/nano encapsulation process has been used in animal nutrition to protect bioactive compounds or to control the release of feed additives into the animal gastrointestinal tract, avoiding rumen microbes attack, or monogastric digestion in swine and poultry, to be available in the small intestine. However, not all the encapsulation techniques are suitable for applications in animal feeding. For example, spray drying, emulsion and coacervation can be used to control the release of feed additives in ruminants. In this sense, micro encapsulation of different feed additives such as amino acids, fatty acids, and probiotics may face enormous challenges to help improve livestock and poultry nutrition. The objective of this review is to highlight and discuss the techniques, compounds, and key aspects involved in the encapsulation of feed additives and nutrients with potential applications in the livestock and poultry production